Petition seeks to boot Kansas lawmaker Mike O’Neal in Psalm flap

Thousands of Kansans have signed a petition calling for the resignation of a top state lawmaker who, referring to President … Continued

by Michelle Boorstein

Thousands of Kansans have signed a petition calling for the resignation of a top state lawmaker who, referring to President Obama, cited a psalm that calls for the removal of a leader — by death.

Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal (R) has been under fire primarily by liberal groups and hate crime watchdogs since he forwarded an e-mail quoting Psalm 109:8. It says: “May his days be few; may another take his office.”

The controversy comes from the next line in the Psalm: “May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.”

The Kansas City Star quoted this e-mail from O’Neal: “I understand the debate over the verse interpretation, about which I have explained and for which I have repeatedly apologized to the extent anyone misconstrued my intent or was otherwise offended. I respect both the president and the office.”

But some critics say O’Neal and others who cite the psalm are being disingenuous.

“Words have consequences,” said Potok. “These are precisely the kinds of words that lead to situations like Gabby Giffords.” Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat who recently resigned from her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was among 19 people shot at a constituent event in Tucson.

Michael Sherrard, of the Washington group Faithful America said Wednesday that the petition calling for O’Neal to resign has 40,000 signatures from around the country.